I originally wrote this post for my other blog, Media Fitness Coach, targeted at busy business owners and fitness professionals who were trying to use social media marketing to improve their business. I thought that it was worthwhile information for a wider audience though, because for many of us, blogging is a business, social media marketing is a necessary part of increasing both your readership and your income, and, well, we’re all busy. Here’s my original article with a few notations directed specifically at bloggers.
When I publish articles about the importance of social media and why it is necessary for your business, one of the things that I hear the most is, “where do I find the time?” Many small business owners realize that social media marketing is vital, but, they say, “I’m busy managing my company!” (Or training my clients, teaching my classes, working my “real” job, taking care of my kids, writing my blog. You get the idea.)
It’s true that social media can take up a lot of time, especially if you’re taking the time to engage with your followers, respond to questions, and follow up on complaints. How, then, to find that time, without taking away from your other responsibilities? Here are a few tips that can help.
6 Tips for Managing Your Social Media (when you have no time)
1. Focus on Your Goals. Before you plan what you want to say, have a good idea of what your goal is. Are you trying to get more traffic to your website or blog? Do you have a sale or product you want to promote? Do you want actual foot traffic for your business? An important goal that should be in your mind everyday is to just raise awareness of your brand. Goals can change from week to week, and even daily, so know exactly what you want to accomplish before you even step foot online.
For Bloggers: You may want to get more pageviews, sell your services, increase your advertising revenue, or all three. Knowing what you want will help you achieve your goals. Brand awareness applies to blogs too. You are your brand.
2. Have a Plan. Based on your goals, have an idea what you are going to post for each day. Using a planner or an editorial calendar to plan ahead can keep you organized. When you’re browsing, save links that you would like to share with your followers. Jot down interesting ideas when they come to you. Then, write down a schedule and the posts you want to send out. Spend an hour or two, once a week, making an outline of your plans for the upcoming week. This can be adapted as the week goes on, but it helps you know where you’re going.
For Bloggers: Your social media schedule should align with your blog posting schedule. Spread out your content through the day and week, so that it isn’t overwhelming. Intersperse your own promotions with other bloggers’ content.
3. Don’t Get Caught Up. Social media can be a time sucker (one word..Pinterest). While engagement is necessary, it is easy to get carried away on any of the social media channels. Keep your own posting and replying focused, using your precious time for what amounts to networking. Don’t waste time discussing the weather, engage in deeper, more relative conversations.
For Bloggers: A little discussion of the weather is fine, but do try to keep it relative. Remember, you are networking, so treat your online interactions as you would other opportunities to get to know other bloggers and brands.
4. Use Dead Time. Use time that would otherwise be wasted, like waiting for a plane or an appointment, or while commuting on public transportation. Using your smartphone to check in on social media while you’re waiting is an excellent use of dead time. Everyone has gaps of time during their day that can be put to good use.
For Bloggers: Dead time is also a good time to respond to comments on your blog.
5. Schedule (some) Posts. Use the scheduling function of social media apps like Hootsuite, Buffer, or Tweetdeck, or smartphone apps like Tweetcaster (both for iPhone and Android), to schedule a few posts for the day (or even for the week). It is now possible to schedule posts on Facebook, both on the web and through the smartphone app. Be careful though. In order to engage with your followers, you need to check in and respond to their comments and questions, so don’t just schedule a few posts and forget about it.
For Bloggers: Schedule a few newer posts, pull out a few of your older posts that you’d like to reintroduce, and remember to share other bloggers’ posts. I’m not an expert on Pinterest, but the time has come for me to look into one of the Pinterest schedulers too. I’m deciding between Board Booster and Tailwind.
6. Get Help. If you just can’t manage to find the time to follow through on your social media plans (and to do it well), there are some other options. Can you delegate it to another staff member? If you do, make sure that it is someone who is not only social media savvy, but is responsible enough to handle any issues or complaints that may come up. Another option is to hire someone to do it for you. If your company is small it may not be financially feasible to hire a new employee strictly to manage your social media. There are freelance social media managers that can do the job for you on a per-job or monthly basis, who are trained to make the best use of social media marketing and can take the weight off your shoulders.
For Bloggers: This is probably not an option unless you have a very big blog or a very accommodating spouse.
Most of all, relax. Social media should be fun, engaging, not rigid and forced. If you are new to social media marketing, start small, with one or two accounts, and post once or twice a day. Get the feel for your medium, learn what people are talking about, and don’t try just simply to sell. It is possible to manage your social media in a minimum amount of time by focusing on your goals, planning, and appropriate time management.
I’m linking up with Debbie in Shape for Tip Tuesday, Nanna’s Wisdom for Wednesday Wisdom, xoxo Rebecca for That Friday Blog Hop, and with Kathleen for the Blog Booster Party.
How do you make the most of your social media time? Do you use any scheduling apps? Which ones are your favorites?
These are amazing tips Debbie. I feel like I’ll never master the balance life and blogging/social media… but I try… sigh.
I get that. It really is time consuming, even when you pre-schedule. At least I’m following my own advice. Finishing lunch, having coffee at Starbucks, responding to comments 🙂
Can I come with you? haha! sounds quiet and peaceful.
Great tips! I definitely feel like I need to manage my time better as far as engaging on social media!
It can be hard to do. It takes a lot of time and it’s easy to get sidetracked.
Great tips! Social media can be a rabbit hole that you can easily fall into and get lost. I still need to find that balance!
Boy is that true. I’m still working on it myself.
Whenever people ask about where you find the time (regardless of what they are talking about), I always answer that you find the time for what is important to you, and you figure out how to streamline the process. Just like with health and exercise!
Truth. That’s one of the points of this post. To help streamline the process.
This is so helpful, thank you. I get so lost in all those social world sometimes, I love the schedule a post idea, gonna have to get on that.
Scheduling posts really helps. I try to spend a little time each evening scheduling for the next day.
great tips, i am looking into those apps now 🙂
Great! I’m sure you’ll find them helpful.
These are great tips. I’ve been feeling really overwhelmed lately by all the work it takes to grow my blog. I’m trying to rein it in a bit.
It’s a ton of work! And it’s not like you get there and you can stop.
That is the truth! I love to write and that’s what keeps bringing me back. I get most of my traffic from FB, altho I am starting to see a little more action from twitter and IG. Still, the majority of my comments are from other bloggers. So I spend the majority of my time reading and commenting on other blogs.
I feel bad sometime because I feel like I get behind on reading other blogs. I have so many favorites, but so little time!
People don’t realize how much work it really takes to run a blog. These are great ideas.
It really does take a lot of time. Writing a post is the easy part!
Great tips, Debbie! I know I struggle with the time suck of blogging and in fact, it is what is making me consider shutting down. But this is a great guideline on how to do it right.
Thank you. Yeah, sometimes I start to ask myself if it’s worth it. So far it is I guess.
I would have no life without Buffer and CoSchedule. I include them in my prayers because they are awesome.
I can still improve my organization, but I think I am getting there.
I am on top of the thing with inlinkz. I really don’t get what is going on. My apologies for the issues.
Thanks for sharing it on #TipTuesday.
I haven’t tried Co-schedule yet. So far I have failed at any editorial calendar, but I’m trying. When I start using it regularly then I’ll think about paying.
Many people don’t realize how much work it takes to run a blog. I agree with all these tips and try to schedule as much as I can ahead of time just in case.
Yes, writing a post is the easy part!
Social media management is a huge job. So far I have had 2 VAs. One quit after a few days because it was too junior and the other got ill. Sigh.
To do it right is a time consuming job. Planning and organizing helps a little, but still. ..
These are great tips! As a social media manager in my day job (not blogging) I have found the importance of planning and scheduling to be able to share content consistently. Now I just need to work on this for my blog 🙂
Ha! Kind of like a chef who doesn’t want to cook at home. 🙂
Great tips! I am constantly working on this. I really use the “dead” time one, as I’m waiting in the car (not driving) for my son to come out of school, or if I get somewhere early.
I’m trying to do that to. Actually right now I’m following my husband around Lowes as I reply to comments 🙂
Thanks for sharing these tips. Yes, it’s a challenge trying to keep up with everything. These tips will definitely help me to find some type of balance. I will definitely add this post to my favorites.
Thank you, I’m glad my ideas help.
These are excellent tips! I do enjoy using Buffer and Hootsuite to postdate and plan out posts for the week. Plus Buffer makes it so easy to add images when Tweeting.
Your point that I enjoy the most, is to make sure to relax and have fun with social media. It is not meant to be another chore. If you connect and make online friends, it can be fun to check in with them and get to know them on a personal level as well. 🙂
I’ve been making good use of Hootsuite myself. It really helps. I’m trying out Board Booster for Pinterest to see if I like it.
Great tips. I think having a goal and tailoring your efforts to that make a big difference.
Having a goal helps keep me on point.
Thanks for the great tips! Buffer is great…I try to fill up list off day each morning and add links during dead time as well. I’m still on the fence about how much to post though.
Even scheduling posts takes time. But at least it’s focused time.
Hootsuite helps me, but really, I just treat tweeting and FBing like a fun activity, and I always have time for fun activities! 😉
Best attitude yet!
These are great tips! Social media is very important right now, thanks for this.
You’re welcome. It is important. I see a big difference in my blog numbers when I’m really working hard at marketing. And sadly, vice versa.
I so need this! Some days it is just so hectic and hard! Thank you for the lovely tips and advice!!
Thank you. I think on the really difficult days you just have to prioritize and if you can’t get to it all, oh well. There will be another day.
These are awesome tips, and it’s funny because I was just sitting here thinking about how late I am when it comes to managing my social media networks. There are just so many of them today and it can get to be quite the headache for someone who doesn’t (purposely) have a monetized blog!
It’s tough to prioritize which is why knowing your goals really helps. Even the pros say to pick one or two of your favorite social networks, because it’s exhausting to try to keep up with them all.
Hootsuite has been really helpful for scheduling things ahead of time. The scheduler works for me because the software automagically finds when the right time to post to each network.
I love Hootsuite but I haven’t tried auto-scheduling. I need to look into that.
these are great tips I was just sitting here thinking about how late I am when it comes to managing my social media networks. There are just so many of them today /
Even the pros say to pick one or two social networks to focus on. Finding out which ones send you the most traffic can help you figure out where to spend your time.
In addition to my social media and blog I also manage social media for two clients. Scheduling is so important and I don’t know where I would be without my iPhone. Thanks for the great tips and linking up with us at #WednesdaysWisdom
Scheduling is huge, and using your smartphone is the only way to go. I’ve spent the last hour finishing up lunch, following my husband around Lowes all the while responding to comments. Taking my own advice!
It’s like you could you could see what I’m struggling with and decided to write a post about it. Thank you for these great reminders and key tactics! – Jerusha, TheDisneyChef.com
These are great tips! I could use some help. A blog is a lot of work.
You’ve got that right! Non-bloggers never understand that it is a lot more than writing a little article.
These are wonderful tips. I need to work more on my social media.
Thank you. I think that interacting with your followers is one of the most important things. They are more likely to click through to your blog if they feel a connection with you.
Great tips! I sometimes find it difficult to stay on top of everything so it’s a for sure learning curve for me!
There is for everyone! I’ve said it a couple times here in the comments, but really focusing on one or two media networks really helps take off some of the load. There really are too many to keep up with.
I’m definitely getting better at using dead time to its advantage. Getting help really, really helps take the pressure off too.
Getting help would be ideal! And dead time is perfect. I’ve responded to most of the comments here while finishing lunch and wandering through Lowes. 🙂
Your tips are so helpful. I have gotten the hang of Buffer, but I should spend some more time with Hootsuite. Scheduling my posts or other interesting ones allows me to actually engage with those commenting when I have some dead time. #TipTuesday
Great post Debbie! Now I need the time to do it & first read it & understand it as my mind does not work this way – not techy! 🙂
So good Debbie lots of wisdom and strategies I need to work on.
Kathleen
So much good information about social media management here. A lot of which I am not doing. I really like the idea of using dead time productively. I travel a lot so I really need to start planning out what I’ll be doing during all that time I spend in the airport. I also need to be more consistent about taking the time to schedule posts! *sigh* There is so much to do when it comes to blogging and keeping your audience aware and engaged!
You are so right about the time drain of social media. I am getting better, but I still have a ways to go. My favorite of your points is to have a goal…in the beginning, I would spend huge amounts of time going back to do something or fix something. It helps to know exactly what you plan to do.
Stopping by from the Friday Blogger Booster Party,
Shellie
http://www.thefabjourney.com
Good tips now I need to follow it. I use hootsuite though.
Thanks, social media is a time consumer. People who don’t blog have no idea! I find that five minutes here and there while I am waiting or a passenger in a car really adds up.
Pinned to read later cause I don’t have time right now…thanks for sharing on Fridays Blog Booster Party
Awesome tips! I use Buffer to schedule my tweets and IFTTT to automatically post for me across my social media accounts. Planning a little bit definitely saves me time.
Well congratulations, you did it again and made the TOP TWO most clicked on Fridays Blog Booster Party. This post will have a special feature on Friday.
Kathleen
You should also look at Buffer for scheduling pins. They just recently launched that function 🙂 Thanks for all the awesome tips 🙂
I use buffer for all my scheduling needs and find it’s worth the added expense.
Thanks for these tips. I’ve been working on a scheduling plan that allows me to connect with all the various SM rooms, sites, and forums that I’m a member of.
Love Love LOVE these helpful articles, as a new blogger, I really appreciate it!
Good advice! I’m just getting started with my blog, and Hootsuite has become my go-to for social media!
Great social media tips! I am trying to think of my blog as a business (although it’s really new so I’m not used to that yet!). There is such a delicate balance when it comes to social media and it’s so hard not to let it suck up all our time, energy, and productivity. Love the idea of using schedulers!